Maria Sharapova wins her second French Open title

Maria Sharapova of Russia celebrates after her French Open victory on June 7, 2014.

Maria Sharapova won the French Open title Saturday 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 in a hard-fought battle against first-time Grand Slam finalist Simona Halep. It was the first time since 2001 that a French Open women’s final went to a third set.

Halep, a 22-year-old from Romania, was the fourth seed in the tournament after winning seven titles so far in 2014. But the seventh-seeded Sharapova was too focused and relentless — and too good — to lose.

The match featured highlight-reel quality play. And contrasting styles. Sharapova hit seemingly every ball as hard as she could and let out high-pitched yelps every time she struck the ball, while Halep mixed up her shots with different angles and depths, and never made a sound.

After the match, the 27-year-old Sharapova said, “This is the toughest Grand Slam final I’ve ever played. All respect to Simona. I thought she played an unbelievable match today.”

As the players pose for a pre-match photo, Sharapova’s slight height advantage is evident.

One of the best points of the match came with Sharapova serving at 4-4, deuce, in the second set. Halep ran down several balls and with impressive defense got back into the point and won it, prompting John McEnroe, who was doing TV commentary of the match for NBC, to say of Halep, “she found a gear that I don’t believe she’s ever seen before.”

This was Sharapova’s fifth Grand Slam title. When she won the French Open in 2012, she became only the sixth woman since 1968 to win the “career Grand Slam,” winning all four major tournaments (a “calendar Grand Slam” is winning all four in the same year.) Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf are the other career slam winners.

Earlier in her career, Sharapova didn’t feel comfortable playing on clay, and famously said after a match at the French Open in 2007: “I feel like a cow on ice. Especially on clay.” (See: Tom Perrotta on how Sharapova improved on clay.)

Sharapova, already the highest paid female athlete in the world, received a check for €1.65 million (around $2.24 million) for her victory. She made $29 million between 2012 and 2013; $6 million in prize money and $23 from endorsements.

She became a star when she won Wimbledon in 2004 as a 17-year-old. Major endorsement deals soon followed: today she has deals with Nike
NKE, -0.40%
, Head, Samsung Electronics
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, Tag Heuer, Evian and Porsche
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.

Not content to just sell other companies’ products, Sharapova started her own company in 2012: Sugarpova candies.

As the runner-up, Halep received a check for €850,000 (around $1.12 million).

Attention horse racing fans: The last time a Romanian player won a Grand Slam was 1978 (Virginia Ruzici won the French Open) — the same year the Triple Crown was last won (by Affirmed).

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